Draw cord equipment for telescopically extensible curtain rods



Sept. 6, 1932.

C. W. Kl RSCH DRAW CORD EQUIPMENT FOR TELESCOPICALLY EXTENSIBLE CURTAIN RODS Filed June 22, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 6, 1932. Rs 1,876,060

DRAW CORD EQUIPMENT FOR TELESCOPICALLY EXTENSIBLE CURTAIN RODS Filed June 22. 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inlfe 1113;

Patented Sept. 6, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE, 1

CHARLES W. K1RSCH,OF STURGIS, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOTR/ TO KIRSCH COMPANY, OF STURGIS, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN DRAW CORD EQUIPMENT. FOR TELESGOPICAL'LY EXTENSIBLE CURTAIN RODS Application filed June 22,

This invention relates to improvements in drapery suspension fixtures and has for 1ts main object to provide asimple and efiicient structure of this character adapted for drawcord operation, capable of embodiment 1n both the single piece or cut-to-measure type of curtain rod and the telescopically extensible type of the same.

A particular object of the present lnvention is to provide a drapery suspension fixture of the aforesaid type which includes master or leader carriers possessing certain advantages in characteristics or features of construction hereinafter particularly pointed out.

A further object of the invention is toprovide a drapery fixture of the kind specified which comprises a plurality of cooperative members for effecting rapid and simple assembly and smooth and eflicient operation.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein: p v

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a 'conventional type of hollow curtain rod equipped with draw-cord operated drapery carrying devices constructed in accordance with the invention. e k

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan View of the same.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the same on the line 33 of Fig. 1. r r 1 Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views of master or leader carriers of the structure.

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the carriers shown in Fig. 4. q n

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the carriers shown in Fig. 5, and may also beregarded as a top plan view of the structure shown in Figs. 4 and 6 with respect to the upper por- 40 tion of said structure.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one ofthe carriers disposed between the master or leader carriers and the draw-cord sheave carriers of the fixture.

Fig. 9 is a central vertical sectional view of the carrier shown in Fig. 8.

In the marketing of drapery suspension fixtures of the telescopically extensible type, it is customary to dispose the rod, brackets and other appurtenances in'a unit package.

1931. Serial No. 546,133.

Heretofore, it has not, to my knowledgc,been attempted to market a telescopically extensible curtain rod together with draw-cord equipment because of the difiiculty of assembly thereof by the purchaser, and also because the number of traverse slides to be used must necessarily vary in accordance with variations in the ultimate length to which the, rod'is adjusted. For example, the rod may be adjustable from a minimum length of twenty-eight inches to a'maximum of fifty. inches. Assuming that one traverse carrier is required for every four inches of length, it will be apparent that provision must be made to insert or remove such carriers and this, ordinarily, requires more or less expert service on the part of the person who mounts the rod.

The telescopicallyextensible type of curtain rod is, furthermore, not well adapted to be provided with the ordinary type of drawcord equipment for the reason that the extremities of the two component members of the rod present shoulders or surface projections, one of which is externally and the other internally disposed and, consequently, interfere with smooth operation of the traverse carriers as heretofore provided because this type of equipment has been limited to application to single piece or cut-to-measure rods 0 which are generally assembled and installed by skilled workmen.

The telescopically extensible type of, rod as heretofore marketed has also been of such small cross-sectional internal width that, because of the aforesaid shoulders, its equipment with traverse carriers had to be so effeoted as to leave no room within the rod to accommodateboth the traverse carriers and the draw-cord, so that the latter and, the sheaves over which it is trained were required to be disposed externally of the rod. This is objectionable for various reasons.

Hence, the object of the present invention is primarily to provide a telescopically extensible rod and draw-cord equipment therefor which may be assembled at the factory and disposed in a unit package and may easilybe disassembled for the purpose ofvary'ing the number of traverse carriers and then re-;'

pend. The portions of the draw-cord disposed between said sheaves present two substantially parallel strands, one of which must be eng'ag'ed'with one of the leader or master carriers and the other of which must be engaged with the other leader or master carrier and, especially in the case of telescopically adjustable rods, the points in these two strands of the draw-cord to be engaged with the re spective leader ormaste-r carriers must be ad justed after the rod has been adjusted to its ultimate length. To effect such adjustment,

which is the most diflicult problem presented,

it has heretofore been necessary to disconnect the draw-cords from the leader or master carriers and, especially in instances where the draw-cords are disposed within the rod, this hasbeen some-what diflicult of accomplish "ment even by skilled. artisans, 1n connectlon with the aforesaid cut-tomeasure rods wherein this adjustment isvery slight as com pared with that frequently necessary in the case of extensible rods.

The fixture of the present invention comprises, preferably, a hollow, telescopically eX tensible curtain rodl substantially C-shaped incross-section and'presenting a continuous longitudinal slot in the wall thereof opposed to the window casing, the latter being equipped with the necessary brackets 2 for engagement with the ends of the rod, said brackets being of any of the conventional types and the ends of the rod being, of course, constructed to fit the brackets. The latter may be arranged to receive the ends of a straight rod, as shown, or the rod ends and brackets may otherwise be shaped and interengaged. 1

Hereinafter the aforesaid slotted wall of the rod will be referred to as its rear wall 1 and the portions of said rear wall bordering the said slot therein, will be referred to as the flanges of the rod. The rod herein shown differs from the conventional telescopically adjustable rod 1n cross-sectional dimensions only in that it is wider between its front and rear walls in two sheaves 5' are shown in dotted lines at the right hand side of Fig. 1. The rod is provided with openings in its lower edge through which the draw-cord ends pass, said ends depending from the sheaves 5 and being equipped at their extremities with weights 6. The details of construction of the carriers for the sheaves 4 and 5 are immaterial to the present invention. In the instance illustrated, these carriers include clamping means engaging the flanges of the rod, the plates 7 and Sconstituting parts of said clamping serves two purposes, one thereof being to prevent relative moivement of the component sections of the rod 1, and the other being to provide a center guide for properly initially positioning the leader or master 'carriers- 13 and 14:, respectively, which are engaged and operated-by the draw-cord. The leader or master'carriers 13 and 14 engage opposite sides of the aforesaid clamping devicewhen the curtain or draperies are drawn to closed position to shut out light.

Disposed between each of the leader or master carriers and the respective sheaves 4 and 5 is a number of what I shall term swivel carriers 15, the details of construc tion of which, as well as the details of construction of the respective leader or master slides, are of the essence of the present invention.

. Each of the carriers 15 comprises an outer plate, designated by that numeral, which is provided along the side edges of the portion thereof opposed to the rear wall of the rod, with side flanges 16., The side flanges 16 of each plate or carrier 15 abut against the side flanges 16 of next adjacent plates or slides 15 to prevent overlap of one plate 151upon' the next contiguous one which .is commonly termed nesting inthis art, and effects a j amming of the draw-cord mechanism when it occurs, said side flangeseffectively obviating such nesting and jamming.

To the face of each plate 15 which is onposed to the rod and substantially centrally of the area bordered by the side flanges 16, there is secured a cylindrical spacing member 17 which may constitute the middle, an-

nularly enlargedportion of a rivet 18'by I means of which a cup-washer 19 is secured to the plate 15. The said spacing member is of slightly smaller diameter than the width of the slot in the latter and travels in said slot and upon thelower flange of the rod and is 11:

very freely rotatable relatively to the rod so that it forms both a sliding and a swivel member. The cup washer 19 is of appreciably greater diameter than the width of the slot in the rod and cooperates with the plate 15 to maintain the spacing member. 17 upon the lower flange of the rod. Said cup washer 19 occupies only a small portion of thespace between the front and rear walls of the rod, thus providing ample space therein for the draw-cord strands. The length of the spacing member and the fiat. cone shape of the cup washer are such as to. provide ample freedom of motion and travel of the carrier under all conditions of its use without binding, the corners formedat the junctions of the side flanges 16 with the plates 15 being also sufliciently rounded to prevent them from being stopped in travel by contact with the outer shoulder formed by the extremity of the female member of the componentsections of the rod. Obviously, the taper of the cup washer 19 serves a similar purpose with respect to the internal shoulder formed by the extremity of the male member of the rod.

Each plate or carrier 15is provided in its lower end portion with one or more openings or perforationsto receive and engage drapery suspension devices.

Each of, the two leader or master carriers, in the instance illustrated, comprises two parallel plates which are secured together by rivets which include the preferably cylindrical spacing members 21,. the outer plates of said carriers being designated bythe respective numerals 13 and 14 and the inner plates thereof by the numerals 13 and. 14*, respectively. The latter and the said rivets constitute suitable means for engaging the structure with the flanges of the rod for guidance by the latter and may be replaced by any other suitable means for accomplishing this purpose. The outer plates 13 and 14 are of greater width than the respective inner plates 13 and 14*,the upper edges of the respective pairs of said plates being preferably aligned with each other. The spacing members 21' are disposed midway between the upper and lower edges of the inner plates and adjacent the ends of the latter and ride upon the lower flange of the rod.

Each inner plate of the said respective leader or master carriers is provided at one end with an inturned lip or flange 22 and at its other end is provided with an outwardly turned flange 23 which has a narrow portion spanning the space between the inner and outer plates, the outer end portion of said flange 23 being of substantially the same width as said inner plate and projecting outwardly fro-m the outer plate to engage the side flange 16 of the next adjacent carrier 15.

The lower edge portion of the plate 14 is offset to provide an inverted L-shapedflange 24, the depending portion of which is disposed substantially in vertical alignment with the longitudinal axis of the rod and terminates in a finger 25 which projects into overlapping position relatively to the companion leader or master carrier 13 whenthe lip or flange 22 engages the inner plate of the middle clamping device above described. The said finger 25 and the flange 24 are pro-. vided with suitable perforations 26 to receive suspension devices secured to the upper corner portions of the meeting edges of the curtains or draperies. Y

The outer plate 13 of the other leader or master carrier is provided along its lower edge with an outwardly projecting flange 27, the outer edge of which extends at an angle to the plate 13 and which is arovided along said outer edge with a downwardly projecting flange 28 which terminates in the finger 29 which extends into overlapping relation to the carrier 14 when said carriers 14 and 13 are engaged with the said middle clamping device of the rod, the said fingers 25 and 29 being parallel with and appreciably spaced from each other. The finger 29 and the flange 28 are provided with perforations 26 to engage suspension devices secured to the upper corner portion of the companion curtain or drapery, the pair of curtains or draperies suspended from the several carriers 13, 14, and 15 being thus caused to over lap each other when drawn to closed or light excluding position.

Each of the said inner plates 13 and-14 is provided substantially midway between its ends and upper and lower edges with a longitudinal slot 30. The respective plates 13 and 14 are provided with pairs of openings 32 directly opposite the said slots 30 of each of the respective inner plates, said openings 32 through the adjacent opening 32, over the bridge element 31, through the other opening 7 32 and through the other end of the slot 30. Below the bridge element 31 there is a hook 33 into which the loop of the draw-cord strand is crowded and engaged when it is desired to prevent relative or slip movement between the draw-cord strand and the carrier, as after adjustment of the carrier relatively to the draw-cord as hereinafter described.

The rod 1 is initially assembled at the factory, the sheaves 4 and 5 and their carriers being first mounted in place in the respective component parts of said rod before the latter are telescopically associated with each other.

The draw-cord is then threaded over the sheaves and through the openings or slots 30 and over the bridge element 31 of the inner plates 13 and 14 of the leader or master carriers before the latter are engaged in the 7 iii respective rod sections. The weights are'then preferably afiixed to the extremities of the draw-cord. I

A set of carriers 15 is then mounted in each rod section and, preferably after drawing the loops of the draw-cord through'the openings 32 and over the hooks 33 of the leader or master carriers 13 and 14, the latterare disposed in the respective rod sections. The middle clampingdevice is then loosely disposed in one of the rod sections and said sections then telescopically associated with each other. The middle clamping deviceis moved to engage overlapped portions of the flai'iges of the rod sections and there fastened, where upon the assembled structure, together with itssupporting brackets, is disposed in a carton.

The purchaser of the carton and contents first loosens the middle clamping device, adj usts the rod to the desired length (the brackets being mounted on the Window casing either before or after adjustment of length of the rod). After this adjustment of the rod to the desired length, the middle clampingde vice is moved'to position as accurately as possible midway of the ends of the rod and is sufliciently tightened to prevent relative movement of the rod sections, it being assumed that no change in the number of carriers 15 of each set thereof is desired. If, however, such a change is desired after a primary adjustment in length of the rod, the ere tent of overlap of the rod sections maybe scratched or otherwise easily marked on one of the flanges and said sections then disassociated from each other. he middle clamping device and both leader or master carriers are then extracted and the number of carriers 15 of therespective sets thereof diminished or increased, as the case may be, and the leader or master carriers and middle clamping device restored, the rod sections being thereafter reassociated and the rod adjusted to proper length. The middle clamping device is then moved-to its proper position and there secured. w

After the aforesaid assembly has been effected, the final step consists in effecting proper adjustment of the leader or master slides, which must both be in contact with the middle clamping device without slack in the loop of the draw-cord which is trained over the sheave l.

To effect this adjustment, the loop of the draw-cord, which is engaged with the hook 33 of one of said carriers, is disengaged from the latter and is allowed to rest upon the bridge element 31. Both said leader or master carriers are now moved into contact with the middle clamping device, as easy slippage of the draw-cord relatively to the member disengaged with respect to its hook 33, is assured. The loop of a draw cord engaged with the bridge element 31 is again digitally engaged with the hook 33 while both said carriers are maintainedin'contact with said middle clamping device, the draw-cord being maintained constantly tautduring this operation by theweights attached thereto.

The depending ends of the draw-cord are furnished in such length that, after effecting the last-mentioned adj ustmentiand mounting the rod, thesaid weights. are moved to final desired relative positions, the cords knotted to retain :them insuch positions, and the surplus length cutoff. I

I claim as my invention: V 1. A drapery suspension fixture including a hollow'curtain rod provided with a continuous longitudinal slot in one wall thereof, a plurality of drapery suspension members each comprising a suspension plate equipped with outwardly extending side flanges disposed exteriorlyof the slotted wall of said rod and each equipped with a cylindrical pro: j ection extending through saidslot and pivotally and slidably movable insaid slots and a retaining member at theinner end of each of said projections, the said side flanges of said plates preventing overlap. of contiguous plates upon each other. 1 2. Drapery suspension means for hollow, longitudinally slotted curtain rods, including a pair of opposed master carriers engageable in the slot of said rod fortravel toward and from each other and to which the upper edge portions of the meetingedges of draperies are adapted to be attached, each of said carriers being equipped at its outer end with an outwardly projecting flange, and a plurality of additional drapery suspensionmembers interposed between the outer ends of said master carriers and the ends of the rod and disposed for travel in the'slotof said rod and each equipped with side edge flanges disposed to prevent overlapping of said last -named carriers upon each other and cooperating with the said flanges of the said master carriers to prevent overlap of the latter with said other carriers. I J j .3. A drapery suspension fixture comprising a hollow curtain rod-equipped with flanges bordering a continuous'longitudinal slot therein, draw-cord sheaves mounted in the end portions of said rod, a draw-cord trained over said sheaves, and a pair of master drapery carriers each comprising a plate disposed within the rod and provided with a pair of slots through which a draw-cord strand is threaded, a platedisposed externally of the rod and provided with an opening, a hook bordering said opening, means associating said plates and engaging oneof said flanges for travel thereon, said draw-cord strand being normallyslidable through said opening in said outer plate and engaged with said hook for firmlye'ngaging said-cord to prevent relative movementlbetween the same and said carrier. r r

4:. A drapery suspension fixture comprising a hollow curtain rod equipped with flanges bordering a continuous longitudinal slot therein, draw-cord sheaves mounted in the end portions of said rod, a draw-cord trained over said sheaves, a pair of master drapery carriers each comprising a plate disposed within the rod and provided with a slot through which a draw-cord strand is threaded, a plate disposed externally of the rod and provided with a bridge element bordered by openings, means on said outer plate for engaging said strand to prevent relative movement between the same and said draw-cord, and

means connecting said plates and holding the same in spaced relation to each other.

5. A drapery carrier for a curtain rod equipped with a draw-cord, including means loosely engaging said carrier with said drawcord, said means permitting slippage or" said cord relatively to said carrier, while main taining said cord engaged therewith, and including means on said carrier adapted to be digitally engaged with said cord to prevent said slippage.

6. A drapery carrier for a curtain rod equipped with a draw-cord including means loosely engaging said carrier with said drawcord, said means including a bridge element on said carrier over which the draw-cord is trained and normally permitting slippage of said draw-cord relatively to said carrier, and means on said carrier adjacent to said bridge element adapted to be digitally engaged with said cord for preventing said slippage.

7. A drapery carrier for a curtain rod equipped with a draw-cord including means permanently loosely engaging said carrier with said draw-cord and including a bridge element over which said cord is trained when threaded through openings bordering said bridge element, the latter and said openings cooperating to permit slippage of said cord relatively to said carrier, and means on the ings cooperating to permit slippage of said cord relatively to said carrier, and a hook with which the portion of the cord engaging said bridge element is adapted to be engaged as said cord is released from engagement with I said bridge element for preventing said slippage.

10. In a draw-cord equipped hollow curtain rod, a master carrier comprising a member slidably engaged with said rod and equipped with a pair of openings, a bridge element bordered by said openings, said drawcord being threaded through said openings and over said bridge element for permanently, loosely engaging said carrier with said cord, and a hook disposed adjacent (said bridge piece for digital engagement with said cord to prevent relative movement between the same and said carrier.

11. In a hollow, longitudinally slotted curtain rod equipped internally with sheaves over which the draw-cord is trained, a master carrier comprising a member slidably engaged with the portions of the rod bordering the slot thereof, there being a pair of openings in said member, a bridge piece disposed between the same, and a cord engaging means on said member, the cord being adapted to be passed through said openings and over said bridge piece for permanently engaging said carrier with said cord for relative movement, said cord being adapted to be engaged with said means to prevent said relative movement.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set said openings cooperating to permit slippage of said cord relatively to said carrier, and a device disposed adjacent to said bridge element with which said cord is adapted to be engaged to prevent said slippage.

9. A drapery carrier for a curtain rod equipped with a draw-cord, including means permanently loosely engaging said carrier with said draw-cord, said means comprising a bridge element over which said cord is trained upon being threaded through openings bordering said element, the latter and said open- 

